Ty Watches "Coming 2 America"

For date night this week my wife picked "Coming 2 America".

Two weeks ago we watched the original movie because she had never seen it, and she enjoyed herself so much that she wanted to watch the sequel. This worked out well for me because, as a big fan of the original, of course I wanted to watch the second one. Eddie Murphy is also on some kind of come back tour, if he even needed one. "Dolemite is My Name" was one of the better movies I saw last year, and he crushed when he finally came back to host "SNL". It seems like he is finally having fun again being funny. He isn't doing the family comedy stuff or the big paycheck stuff. He is more in a "Tower Heist" groove, a very underrated movie I might add, and that is the perfect Eddie Murphy mood for me. He is so funny, and when he has really good material to work with, he usually crushes it. And I did not care at all what the critics were saying about the movie. I know it didn't get the best marks, but hey, neither did "Hot Rod", or the myriad of movies RD and I talked about on the pod a few weeks back, and I like those movies very much.

This is the category "Coming 2 America" falls into for me, the "Hot Rod" category. I had an absolutely delightful one hour and forty minutes watching this movie. There were call backs that were great. They had everyone who is still alive from the original in the sequel. Arsenio Hall was dynamite as Semi, and all the heavily made-up characters he played. I loved the newer character he played, the old man that lives in Zamunda, that guides Prince Akeem after his father passes. I could say the same for Eddie Murphy. Prince Akeem is a classic, but so is the sexist minister and the barber and the infamous singer from Queens. Murphy returned all these characters, and they all made me laugh just like I did when I first saw "Coming to America". Murphy really nails this, or these, roles. Shari Headley, as Lisa, is just as strong and confident and beautiful and proud as she was in the original. James Earl Jones, in his maybe five minutes of screen time, was awesome. His funeral was one of the silliest, yet saddest, and most choreographed things I have ever seen in a movie, and I loved every single second of it.

In the movie, Akeem and Lisa have three daughters, one of which is played by Murphy's real life daughter. They are all strong willed, tough and have the best qualities of their mom and dad. The oldest daughter, Meeka, played by KiKi Layne is almost a replica of her father from the original movie, except she may be tougher. Her story arc is one of my favorite things about this whole movie. She was awesome. They even brought back John Amos, Louie Anderson, Clint Smith and Paul Bates to reprise their roles from the first movie. It was nice to see them all acting and all doing a great job in these very memorable roles. The new additions were excellent as well.

The main story of the movie is that Akeem has a son who was fathered while he was in Queens in the first movie. He is the rightful heir, so Akeem and Semi go back to retreat him. The son is played by Jermaine Fowler. His name is Lavelle. I am a Jermaine Fowler fan. I loved his role in "Sorry to Bother You", he was one of the only things I liked in Pete Holmes' HBO show, "Superior Donuts" was decent because of him, and he does a great job in this movie. For him to keep pace with Arsenio Hall and Eddie Murphy is a triumph on its own. Add on that this movie also put Leslie Jones in it, as his mom, Tracy Morgan, as his uncle and Luenell as his aunt, and he kept up with all of them. Leslie Jones was hysterical, and she made me laugh any time she was on screen. She is so consistent. Luenell is quietly hilarious in everything she does. And Tracy Morgan, he is my favorite actor of all time, and Fowler kept up with all of them. This had to be a dream for him. They also put Morgan Freeman in this movie as the narrator at the funeral, and that ruled. Trevor Noah was a newscaster from Zamunda, and he was great, and so was his fake mustache. And Wesley Snipes, much like he did in "Dolemite is My Name", nearly stole the show as the rival king from Nextdooria, a great name by the way.

Look, this movie works on a few different levels. It is great nostalgia, it is fun, it gives Eddie Murphy another starring role, it gives some up and comers a real chance and it allows great comedic actors to do funny things over and over again. This movie is good. I definitely would ignore the critics reviews and check this movie out. It is more than worth your time.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.  

I Will Miss the Great "Baskets" When it is Gone

It was announced about a week ago that the show "Baskets" on FX would be concluding the series with the season 4 finale on August 22nd. I don't know if this was decided by the creators or the network. I would like to think that the creators decided for themselves. I'm bummed by this, but I understand why they are ending it in 2 weeks. This season has felt like a finale all season long. The way the characters have developed throughout the series feels like it was all leading to a conclusion from the first episode of season 4. Some minor spoilers are coming. Fair warning.

Chip is the CEO of the family barn, and is starting to stand up for himself a bit more. He has become an adult, which seems like it was his arc. Dale is insane, and living in a wild trailer park, but he has been there for his family when they have needed him, and he and Chip have had a moment where it seems like they finally understand, and accept, one another. Martha has become more confident, and she doesn't beckon to every call from the Baskets family. Dale's ex wife has moved on. Their 2 kids are growing up, and they seem to be happy enough with their lot in life. Christine is married to her one true love, and she finally seems genuinely happy. All of the main characters have pretty much wrapped their individual stories with 2 episodes left.

All that being said, I will really miss this show for some different reasons. I like how different it is from most shows on TV right now. It is original and funny and moving and shows what it is like to be in a weird, yet loving family. Louie Anderson has been an absolute delight as Christine on the show. I was stunned when I saw him playing the mom, but after about a minute, I forgot, and totally bought it. That is the sign, to me, as a character really inhabiting the role and making it so believable and real. Martha is one of the most underrated comedy characters on TV. She is so monotone and never changes her facial expressions, yet she may be the funniest person on the show. Every time she has had an episode dedicated to her character, I have always found myself laughing, or feeling remorse, for her. She is wonderful. Zach Galifinakis has been tremendous in his 2 roles. He plays both Chip and Dale, and the fact that I forget that he is playing both twins speaks volumes to his performance. As Dale he is so wild and sad and southern and dumb. As Chip he was such a pushover and a follower that turned himself into a real adult, like I said before. He has played these 2 guys so very well. "Baskets" is filled with great, unique performances from very solid actors.

I also like how the show had such an odd premise, Chip is a real clown from Paris that moves back home to Bakersfield with his family. It sounds simple-ish, but the stories went in so many different directions, and they were all told so very well. I also liked how they showed another side of California that we don't see on TV. Bakersfield seems like such a boring, old timey town. That is not the California that is usually shown. There are no models or big studios or fancy stuff going on. Bakersfield looks like a real town that you'd pass through without even recognizing it. And I really like all the odd side characters the show has brought on from time to time. There are Chip and Dale other adopted twin brothers that are famous DJ's. They were great. The old time fair guy that works at the barn was funny, yet sad. The people that live in the same trailer park as Dale are nuts and wild themselves. The pastor that has a church right next to the barn was a delight. He has a beautiful singing voice too. Martha's parents were so old, yet so funny. It was filled with excellent side characters as well as the main cast.

Like I said, I am bummed that the show is ending, but I get it. And, I still have 2 episodes left to enjoy before it ends its 4 year run. Honestly, that is 3 seasons longer than I thought it would get. Kudos to the creators and writers and actors of "Baskets". I will always remember this show, and I am grateful that I got to see it in real time. I would bet a good amount of money that it will become a cult classic whenever it ends up on a streaming service. It is that good of a show.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is tired of all his favorite tv shows leaving him. Why can’t “Young Sheldon” be given only three seasons and then we can have “Love” back for more.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Season Three of "Baskets" Lets Martha Take Center Stage

I feel like I am one of a small bunch of people that watch the highly underrated show "Baskets". In fact, I wrote about how incredible Louis Anderson is as Zach Galifanikis' mom on the show. You read that right. The show just had its third season premiere about 3 weeks ago. I was excited for this season because last season ended on a big cliff hanger, and I wanted to see where they took every character's story from there. I was also pumped because a show like this was getting another opportunity to grow. I feel like FX is one of the few networks that will let a show grow. They will give it time to really suss out stories and characters.

This season, so far, has been doing just that, and today, I want to focus on another actor on the show that I think is doing a wonderful job. In previous seasons, Martha, played by Martha Kelly, has kind of been Chip's, one of the twins Galifinakis plays, sidekick. She is his ride everywhere. She will drop whatever she is doing to help him, and his family out. She has a full time job at Costco, in their main department. She helps take care of her mom. She is a main character on the show, and this season they are really letting her show some growth and change. In the first 2 seasons Martha was kind of a pushover. As I said, she would kind of stop whatever she was doing to help out the Basket family. At the start of this season we come to find out that she is seeing a self help coach, and this coach seems to be really teaching her how to be strong and forthright and honest. She is letting Chip know that she cannot boss him around. She is doing more things for herself. She is definitely standing up for herself. It is great.

In the most recent episode there is a self help retreat the she and Chip were invited to, and this episode has let Kelly do some of her best work. Martha is very monotone, and usually upbeat no matter what the circumstance. She pretty much always sees the bright side. Well, in the second episode, she is the pessimist when it comes to Chip looking for a new home. She continually lets him know that he can't afford the places he really wants, and even pulls him, physically, out of one of the condos he is considering. Well, in the next episode, we see Chip has bought the condo. I then remember that Martha brought him to one of the seminars, and the teacher took an immediate liking to him, and encouraged him to ask his mom, Anderson, for a loan. He got it, and the class loved it. Well, everyone except Martha. Now, in the last episode, we see Chip ask her to borrow her car, and even though he takes it, this is the first time we really see her fight him on it. She really needs her car, but Ship is selfish. Then, when she sees that they are both at this seminar, she gets pissed. She even tells him that the self help thing is her thing, and he is infringing on her time. She tells the teacher as much. When the teacher tells her that she is going to take Chip on a walk, you can see Martha get even more angry. Then, when they are preparing dinner later, after Martha has had one too many drinks, the real truth comes out. Chip claims to be a vegan, which Martha knows is untrue, and she lets him know it. She tells him, in only the way that an actor like Kelly can, and it is awesome. She calls him on his bullshit, but it is very monotone, and if I didn't know her like I do, I'd think she was being sincere. She was not. She is drunk and mad. So mad that she even calls Peter Cetera, who is at this retreat, that he is a "pussy", "because the potatoes aren't that hot". It is a real great performance from an actor that really deserved her chance to shine on this show. She totally knocks it out of the park, and my love for her character only grew after seeing this. It shows that she has a lot more inside of her than just being Chip's chauffeur, and the Basket family helper.

"Baskets" is a great show with a really solid cast. Louie Anderson was a surprise, Galifinakis is always good in what he does, and now Martha Kelly is fast becoming one of my favorite comic actors. She is excellent on this show. I highly recommend people check this show out so you can see great performances like Kelly's on a weekly basis. What a gem.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He used to chauffeur the head editor around. They have many incredible stories about it on one of our first podcasts.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Louie Anderson on "Baskets" is Must See TV

Go change the channell and watch Louie Anderson on "Baskets"

From time to time I like to point out certain actors that I feel like are doing something exceptional. For instance, I wrote about Jaime Foxx in “Baby Driver”, and Rob Lowe in pretty much any comedic performance he’s done recently. Today I want to talk about the wonderful job that Louie Anderson is doing on the show “Baskets”.

I was a fan of this show from the beginning. One of the things I’ve liked the most is the fact that Anderson plays Chip and Dale Basket’s Mom, Christine. I had no idea that Anderson was going to be on this show, let alone, playing a mom. His performance has been truly remarkable. During the first season, for which he was critically acclaimed, and won some awards (the Emmy), it was always kind of wild to see him playing a mom. But, he totally pulled it off. He was believable. He doesn’t even have to change his voice or his appearance, besides wearing a wig, and I started up but his performance by the second episode of season one. What I loved was how caring/gullible Christine is/was on the show. She loves her kids, including her adopted twin DJ sons. But, she also runs up credit card debt and makes poor decisions based on getting people to like her. It was great.

In season 2 Christine met a man while trying to help Chip, who did some unfortunate stuff. She met a father of a lady that Chip was hanging with while jumping trains. Again, the best thing was how believable their relationship is. I totally bought it again. The episode where Christine takes him to a Reagan(screw they guy) museum was tremendous. It is one of the better 25 minute TV episodes that I have seen. By the end of season 2 I found myself rooting for Christine and this gentleman to get together. And, spoiler alert, they do. When they shared their first kiss, it was perfect for this type of show.

Now that “Baskets” is in their third season, Anderson’s Christine is the true star. He has taken over for Zach Galifinakis. The show is supposed to be about him, but this season has been all Christine. A bunch has happened and it’s all really centered on her journey buying the rodeo and other things outside her life. The stuff with her friends is tragic and heartbreaking and Anderson pulls it off. The opera at the rodeo episode was amazing because of Anderson. The back and forth between her and Martha has been awesome. The stuff with her and the horses and the old cowboy, riotous, but also sad.

Louie Anderson has been the true star of the show this season. His performance is so amazing, and I’m very excited to see where they take Christine from here. I never really saw Anderson do anything besides stand up before this, and he is absolutely nailing it. This is an odd show, but if you decide to watch it, I think you will be amazed at how well Anderson is pulling good role off. It is quite a feat. My hat is off to him.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He always thought that Louie Anderson's career would be defined by his iconic role as "Flower Deliveryman" in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". It is ok to be wrong.  

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.